Lost It All
by Allume a Pense
Summary: [oneshot][if it doesn't make you cry i'll give you cookies] 'Gabriella, don't do this', Troy begged. His blue eyes shone with fear. Gabriella only smiled, raised the barrel of the gun and pulled the trigger.


**Author's Note: **Okay, I bet you're tired of hearing how sorry I am for the lack of update on STAF. So I'll skip it. Please enjoy this heart-wrenching story, it's my personal best and I really love it! Also, PLEASE review!

_--_

_Shot twice through the heart and you're to blame,  
__You give love such a bad name._

--

**FOUR MONTHS AGO**

The moon was bright and proud, hanging by an invisible string against a dark night sky. Random splotches of stars seemed to wink down upon the earth – to the melody of a soft breeze that rustled the leaves. Grass rustled around 17-year-old Gabriella Montez's feet, brushing against her bare calf muscle. She smiled up at the flawless sky, all while her auburn eyes twinkled with delight. Her small fingers were entwined with that of Troy Bolton's, her boyfriend of exactly 6 months today. Gabriella's breath was caught in her throat as the two quietly descended upon a small, shimmering pond in the center of the park.

"My gosh," she gasped, tightening her grip on Troy's hand. "It's so beautiful."

"It only matches the girl I'm with," Troy smiled down at her. Gabriella blushed heavily and was suddenly thankful for the dimly lit park. The two savored the dead of silence as they stood at the foot of the pond, staring down at the reflections of themselves. This is what they have become – two successful, happy teenagers in what seemed like a sugarcoated paradise. Gabriella couldn't help but smile when she felt Troy's arms wrap around her tiny waist, and his hot breath on the top of her head. After only a few minutes of sheer silence, he released her, and moved around to the front. Gabriella took a few steps back.

She couldn't see his face very well but she could tell he was smiling – and pulling something out of his pocket. She made out the shape as a small box, and suddenly her world came to a screeching halt. Troy opened the box – grinning like the Cheshire Cat himself – to reveal a beautifully engraved silver ring. "Gabriella, we've been together for half a year now but it feels like forever. This is a promise ring …to promise that I'll love you no matter what."

And with that, Troy took her small hand and slipped the ring onto it. Little did Gabriella know this would be the downfall of them all.

--

**PRESENT DAY**

She pressed her palms to the all-too-cold windowpane, creating curtains of condensation with every short breath. The rain seemed to fall mercilessly to the ground in a rhythmic sort of way, but then again, every sound seemed to slur together lately. Bloodshot eyes roamed the empty roads, darting from trees to mailboxes and back. Paranoia seemed to take control when it came to times like these.

Her long, stringy hair limply hung over her shoulders …a sad mixture of dull brown and black. Cold eyes were held steady by unblinking eyelids and shaded by thick eyelashes. The girl retreated from the window, breathing heavily. She moved around in the dark until she found a chair facing the doorway, taking a seat and listening to her own breath.

The air inside the house was thick and to Gabriella, it felt like moist black velvet at more times than once. It was so dark, she was sure if she were to fall asleep, she need not bother closing her eyes – the darkness could be her eyelids. A particularly large raindrop tittered against the window. Gabriella's head snapped to the source of the sound, her teeth chattering with anticipation. He was late.

Muttering, the now 18-year-old ran a clammy hand over the cool iron surface of the object on the armrest of the recliner she was sitting in. She traced sloppy circles around it, savoring the texture of all the familiar bumps and ridges. She had practiced holding the object multiple times, although she never found an occasion special enough to use it on. Not until today. Grinning to herself, she pet the metal as if it were her kitten and sat quietly in the darkness.

More rain hit the window. More thick air filled her nostrils. It was the same, dull routine every day.

Ever since that girl moved into town, anyways. With her _perfect _hair, and _perfect _teeth, and _perfect _skin and grades …it made Gabriella cringe how much perfectness you could possibly pack into a person. It didn't make Troy cringe, though. It made Troy smile. Only Gabriella was allowed to do that. The shady figure in the chair shook with her own jealousy, before sitting still and thinking what to do.

What to do, what to do. Such a rainy day.

She had considered many ways to express her fury. Countless times she had tried to write down her feelings in a diary. More than once did she spill all her anger to Taylor, and never to her mom, who was out with some boyfriend Gabriella had never even met before. Once, even, she tried to cut herself, but ended up chickening out. She took a heavy sigh and closed her black eyes, her sallow hand still caressing the metal texture.

Suddenly, her time had come. A short cracking noise echoed through the thick air and Gabriella's eyes shot open in anticipation. Someone was knocking on the door. Her body was shaking with anxiety, as she opened her mouth and let all her words tumble clumsily from the deep of her throat. They cut through the air like a knife through butter, and she grinned through every venom-coated word. "It's unlocked. Come in."

The door opened and the real sound of rain filled Gabriella's ears, even in the darkness. The figure moved stealthily inside, shutting the door and collecting the shadows back into the room. The girl in the chair could hear the barely audible droplets of water dripping faintly to the hardwood floor of the foyer. Gabriella sat patiently in the shadows, her frail hand clasped protectively around the metal; she watched the figure look around.

"Gabriella?" it called in a hoarse voice. Coughing once, it wiped its brow and continued to look around. "Gabriella, where are you? What's important?" Troy called through the dim house. The noise rang off the walls and Gabriella scowled at the sound of his voice. He was a traitor, a virus that seemed to poison her every time she saw him. He was her boyfriend of 10 months, and everything was perfect, until Miss Perfect caught his eye. He could not be trusted ever again. And nobody ever double-crossed Gabriella Montez.

Troy stopped dead in his tracks when a clicking came from the living room, to the right of him. He strained his eyes to see very well, but all the lights were off. He could barely make out the small silhouette of Gabriella sitting, poised in a large recliner chair, both arms placed on the arm rests. He smiled and took a step near her. "Don't," Gabriella growled quietly, her voice low and hateful. Troy stopped, confused. "Don't take another step."

"What's wrong?" Troy asked, concerned. "It's me, Troy."

"I know who you are!" she snapped hastily. She got quiet and turned to face the window – staring out into the wet world. "I thought I did." Gabriella added distantly, not bothering to turn to Troy. Troy could see her eyes shining in the reflection of the window. He didn't much like the sheen they were giving off. "Who is she?"

"Who is who?" Troy asked.

"That girl!" Gabriella spat angrily, and impatiently. "The blonde one! She's always around you! Who the hell is she?" her rage was very dangerous to Troy. She turned her head halfway, as if he wasn't worth the full movement. One eye stared deep into his soul, using claws to rip his insides to shreds. Troy took a hesitant step back.

"She's just a friend …" Troy explained weakly. His heart pounded in his chest.

"Was I just a friend, too?" Gabriella said, calmer, this time. But Troy got the message: the calm of the storm is always the most dangerous. "You do remember, Troy, right? I didn't mean anything to you, and neither did the musical. I was just a girl then …and now look where I am. Your girlfriend. So if she's 'just a friend', where will she be in 2 months?"

"Look Gabriella, she really does mean nothing to me," Troy took a step forward, his eyes pleading. "You know you're the only girl I want." He began to take another step forward.

Gabriella clicked her tongue in disgust. "Don't move!" she shouted shortly, her shallow breath becoming heavier with every passing second. The flame inside of her was becoming doused in gasoline every time Troy spoke, or moved, or breathed. "Do you know how much you've put me through? Do you know what I look like now? Do you realize what my grades are, or how my life is? And did you know," she continued, "that it's all because of you?"

Troy was silent. He was afraid to even blink.

"Not anymore," Gabriella laughed, her eyes shining and her voice unusually high-pitched. Shakily, she raised her arm as if it were to thin to even hold the metal up. Troy's blood went cold when he saw what she was holding. A 9 millimeter gun shone proudly, pressed into the palm of Gabriella's hand, with her finger resting on the trigger. No one spoke, just the amused sound of the taunting rain right outside that too-cold windowpane.

"Don't do this, Gabriella," Troy begged, "Please. I'm so sorry!" he took a step forward.

"I'm sorry for you too!" Gabriella snarled. She shut her eyes tightly, every memory of life as she knew it flashing brightly behind her closed eyelids like a never-ending movie. And with that, she pulled the trigger. The shot rang out loudly in the empty house. Troy yelled then fell to the ground – silent – his cold blue eyes still open as blood poured from his chest. He was dead, and Gabriella finally felt free. The strings by which she was dangling, a mere puppet in society controlled by love, were cut.

Standing up, she clutched the gun in her vibrating right hand as she stumbled over to his body. She wasn't sorry for what she had done – she had suffered enough. Her mother always said, '_all's fair in love and war_'. She was simply justifying the statement. Gabriella pulled off the silver promise ring from her right hand and placed it on the floor, right in front of Troy's stone-hard face, so that dead or alive he could stare right at the source of his warm blood on her hardwood floor.

The gun still in her hand, the girl moved to the doorway and opened it, stepping out into the rain. The immediate rush of liquid was intense and felt like heaven. Gabriella dropped the gun onto her front porch and walked down the sidewalk to the empty street, where she began to walk in an unknown direction. Looking up at the sky, she smiled at the crying grey clouds canopying the city. She had no idea where she was going or what was to become of her, and frankly, she didn't much care. Gabriella had always thought life was about three things: to live, laugh and love. She'd done and lost all.

She'd lost it all.

--


End file.
